Who am I?
by Blonde Panther
Summary: FE13. When Tiki confides in Lucina with a far-fetched, but nonetheless hard to dispute theory, the princess of Ylisse is sent into an existential crisis.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fire Emblem. If I did, the concept of this fic would be canon as all hell.  
**Characters:** Tiki, Lucina, Morgan, Robin.  
**Pairings:** Implied Robin/Chrom.**  
Warnings:** Theory warning. And not even a theory with a whole lot of evidence behind it.  
_**Author's Notes: **__This turned out taking and ending up much longer than I had anticipated. I actually believe that, judging from Tiki and Lucina's supports, this is a very plausible thing… but then again I'm big on the entire concept of rebirth. Some of my friends certainly believe Tiki's just seeing things. Others think I'm reading too much into things, but such are the creative liberties of a writer.  
_

* * *

"_I had some free time, so I thought I'd pitch in."  
_"_Well, I'm stronger than I look. Those crates are no problem for me."  
"What? No! Not at all… Th-this is just how I am."_

"_I'm free and I have two hands. Do you need help?"  
_"_I'm not as fragile as people like to believe. I can handle a couple of horses."  
_"_This is how I am. Don't try to change me."_

Tiki opened her eyes, not remembering that she had fallen asleep. Then again, what else was new, she supposed. She'd either been up all night or dreaming all night, milling over Lucina's words, as well as Marth's. The two were so eerily alike. The Manakete of all people would know; even after all those centuries, the words of the man known to most as the Hero-King were still clear in her mind, as was his face, the touch of his hands…

Of course, it was only logical that Chrom and Lucina both bore a resemblance to Marth. They -were- his descendants. But even then, the others of House Ylisse were nowhere near as similar to him as Lucina was, neither in behaviour nor in appearance… It was a passing thought she had entertained at the time, but the longer she thought on it, the more certain she was that it had been no coincidence that Lucina had chosen the name of her long-dead, heroic ancestor to hide behind, and that there was more to their resemblance.

She pondered whether or not to share her theory with the princess as she went about her daily business- evading Say'ri's watchful eye as she went into town with Nah and Gaius to stock up on food. Certainly, the theory concerned her more than anyone else, and Tiki was rather certain of her case… But was it something she wanted to burden Lucina with, she pondered to herself as she pointed Nah to a batch of apples that looked fresher than the ones the halfling had wanted to grab.

_Let this be the right decision, Mother._

* * *

Lucina pulled up her legs, putting the ice Laurent had conjured up on her forehead and keeping it there, groaning. "Bloody loose branches," she muttered as the mage set her sword against the centre pole of her tent and came back over to check the ankle she had twisted the other day.

"Lucina?" she looked up to the entrance, where she saw Tiki. The Manakete had apparently wanted to walk right in when she had seen and recognized Laurent, and now she seemed hesitant.

"Come in, Lady Tiki," the blue-haired princess said, "Laurent was just leaving." The mage nodded, knowing when he was too much, and left the tent. Lucina smiled at Tiki. "Was there something you wanted to discuss?"

"Did something happen to you?" Tiki asked, giving her a concerned look between her forehead and her ankle.

Lucina chuckled in response. "This? It's nothing, I promise. I twisted my ankle in the battle yesterday, but it's as good as healed. As for the forehead, I just got caught under a tree that happened to shed one of its branches just then."

"I see… well, if you're so sure you're alright, I'll take your word for it." Tiki walked into the human girl's tent and sat down near her. "There is something I want to talk about, yes. Do you remember the other day, when I felt you were imitating King Marth?"

Lucina remembered. Tiki had seemed confused, if not startled, at how stunningly similar she apparently behaved to her legendary ancestor. When Tiki waited for an answer, she nodded slowly, not sure what the Manakete was getting at.

"I'd like to apologize again for having been mistaken. You don't imitate Marth."

"As I said," Lucina started, still smiling, "It's just how I a-"

"I believe you ARE Marth."

For a moment, Lucina could only study the dragon's face. The first thing to come to her mind was to ask Tiki if she was feeling quite alright, but for some reason she couldn't get the words out. It was as though something inside her was stirring, something that told her the Manakete was right. "T-that's impossible," she finally said. "The Hero-King died almost two thousand years ago."

"You were reborn," Tiki insisted, and before Lucina could protest, carried on. "Think about it. In your world, the human race has been reduced to whoever came to this era with you, right?" Lucina nodded wordlessly. "A land in desperate need of a hero," Tiki said, "and it was given the greatest hero it could be given. Reincarnating the legendary Marth into a new body, to new parents…"

Dear Naga, Lucina thought, she's serious. She could tell from the way Tiki looked up at her that the Manakete was convinced she was her long-lost old friend. "B-but…" Lucina muttered, a lot less confident than she wanted to sound, "I'm a woman. How could I possibly be…"

"That's something I was wondering, too," Tiki admitted. "But I've come to the conclusion that your exact body doesn't matter. Your spirit is what counts. There's no doubting that you're Mar-Mar."

Mar-Mar. It was the same name she had uttered upon first awaking and mistaking Lucina for her ancestor. However, this time, it unchained a reaction within the human girl that she wasn't familiar with. It was as if a surge of emotions and memories tried to flow back into her, and she shook her head in denial. "D-don't call me that." It was a name that'd always embarrassed her, but she'd allowed the Manakete to use it so she wouldn't get upset- what was she thinking?! Other than that one time at the Mila Tree, this was the first time Tiki had used the nickname! "Please, leave me alone… I need time to think."

* * *

_In one hand was the familiar weight of Falchion, in the other that of the less familiar, but equally reassuring Shield of Seals. She'd braced herself for this all along, having known that within the Dragon's Altar she would find her mortal enemy and put him to the sacred blade. However, she hadn't anticipated just how gargantuan he would be. Last time she had slayed the Earth Dragon he had been about the same size as any other Manakete, but the monster in the centre of the room was at least twice that size…_

_Surrounding it were four priestesses, one hauntingly familiar and sending a sharp pain through her heart. Next to her, she heard someone swallow, and she looked to her side to see a green-haired young man clutching a green-covered tome to his chest with one hand, clearly having to restrain himself greatly to not run towards the priestesses. She extended one hand to get his attention. "Go," she said, "I'll cover you. Just get my sister out of there."_

_The mage nodded, immediately lunging forward. As he started to move, she heard hooves as well as wings and more footsteps, as three others had come into motion in the direction of the other priestesses. This was it, she knew. The second they were all in the clear, she had to strike the beast down in as short a time as she could… _"Lucina!" _She ran alongside the mage, jumping in front of him to cut down a Fire Dragon trying to protect its master- _"Lucy! Wake up!"

"W-what?" She sat up straight in her bedroll, brushing her hair off of her forehead. Light was peering into the tent, and from the bustle outside she could tell it was almost noon, almost time to leave. Had she slept in that long? She looked to her side, where she saw Morgan. Any other man except for maybe their father, she would have kicked out of the tent, but she made an exception for Morgan. "Oh, Morgan. What is it?"

"Are you okay?" Her brother wasn't smiling. He looked dead serious, which was something she wasn't used to from him unless he was doing tactician things in battle. "Tiki said you were upset, so when you didn't come out of your bed when you usually do, Mom got worried."

"Urgh,"Lucina groaned, "Did Mother send you?"

"No, I came of my own accord. I'll ask again, Lucina: are you okay?"

The look he gave her made it impossible to lie to him. "I… I'm not." Immediately, Morgan dropped his tome and his sword and dropped down, crossing his legs and staring at her intently. Lucina knew him well enough to know that this was a sign that he was listening to her and that she was to tell him everything… so she did.

"…and now I've had this dream… it seems eerily familiar, but I don't KNOW any of the people that appeared in it! They don't even look remotely similar to anyone in our army, but the entire scene resembled something you might find in the Hero-King's sagas…" She put her hand to her forehead, on the verge of tears. "I… I don't know who I am anymore."

To her surprise, Morgan burst out laughing. "That makes three of us!" he said, "It must run in the family, huh?"

"What are you talking about-"

"You, me, and Mom!" Morgan said, "We all have a whole life behind us that we don't remember a thing about, and from which memories are only slowly coming back to us one at a time!"

"That's not what I-"

"Don't worry, Lucy." Morgan got up, smiling. "I'm sure you'll remember and figure things out. Besides, my memory's foggy on history, but I think you could do worse than being Marth." With that, he turned around and left the tent. "Oh, yeah," he said, poking his head back in. "Chrom- I mean, Dad wants to see you. Something about the sparring match he lost."

Normally, Lucina would laugh at her father keeping his promise of telling her how he'd met her mother, but right now it was the last thing on her mind. She decided not to go meet her father and instead just pack up and get ready to leave.

* * *

"…Lucina?" She turned. Behind her was Robin, her father's black-haired tactician. In stark contrast to her usual thick ponytail, Robin had let her hair down, so combined with the darkness, Lucina needed a few seconds to realize who had approached her.

"Mother," she said, "What brings you here?"

"I should ask you that," Robin said. "It's not like you to leave camp, on your own, this late at night, in hostile territory. Please tell me I did not raise a fool."

"You did not raise a fool, Mother."

"Good." Robin came closer, putting an arm around her daughter's shoulder. "Are you feeling better, dear? Morgan told me you were having an identity crisis of sorts."

That boy could never keep anything to himself, could he. Still, Lucina sighed deeply and leaned into her mother's touch. "…Tiki thinks I'm a reborn form of King Marth. And as much as I want to believe she's wrong, my dreams and déjà vu's tell me otherwise. I'm seeing memories that aren't my own, and yet they are."

"I see." Robin squeezed her shoulder. "Lucina… what it the worst that could happen? Worst-case scenario, Tiki is right. But would that really affect your life? It would mean you've always been an ancient hero reborn. It doesn't change who you are."

"But that's the problem," Lucina said, so quietly her mother had to lean in to hear her. "I don't know who I AM anymore. If I'm Marth, then who is Lucina? Someone who's going to disappear when I accept it? A mask I constructed to hide from whatever enemies I may have had who survived?"

"Shhh." Lucina had burst into tears, so Robin held her more tightly to herself and attempted to comfort her. "It's okay. I know how you're feeling right now. These are all questions I've asked myself, too…" Lucina abruptly stopped crying and turned red with embarrassment. Of course- she wasn't the only one in this kind of position.

Just as she was apparently a vessel for the Hero-King, so Robin was a vessel for the Fell Dragon. Morgan hadn't just been messing around when he said there were worse people to be- he had referred to their mother. More than ever, Lucina felt the Mark of Grima on her ankle burning as a reminder of the cursed blood they shared. "Mother, I'm sorry… I didn't think-"

"Don't worry about it," Robin interrupted. "I've come to terms with it and decided for myself that if I don't _let_ him control my life, he _won't_. You were asking who Lucina is, if you are to be Marth. But the question you have to ask is, what do you want all this to mean? You don't have to become Marth. You CAN simply take the memories of your past life and move on with your current one, just knowing the history better than the scholars do."

"Can't I put them back away wherever they were and forget all of this ever happened?" She still wasn't sure. Yes, it was far better to be King Marth than to be Grima, but she wanted nothing to do with this entire reincarnation business.

Robin's answer surprised her. "Maybe you can," she said, "and if you ask them I'm sure the likes of Laurent and Morgan will even help you figure out how. But regardless of the decision you make in this, know that your father and I will support it, as long as it is your own choice." She kissed her daughter's cheek. "I'm going back to camp. Be careful out here, okay?"

"I have Falchion," Lucina said as Robin pulled away from her, "I'll be fine." She waved at her mother as she turned around to leave for camp, and then unsheathed the sword. Looking at the faintly glowing blade, she raised it so the moonlight reflected off of the uncanny metal. "If only you could tell me what to do," she muttered to the sword. "I've wielded you before… haven't I? Two millennia ago…"

Falchion remained silent, but as Lucina stared into her reflection in the blade, she felt herself relaxing. She hadn't run away from her past in her last life… there was really no reason to do so now, was there? Other than cowardice? Well, she certainly was no coward and she had no intention of becoming one. Her family and friends would never let her hear the end of that… but, maybe more importantly, neither would Shiida, Elice, or Merric.

* * *

_**Additional Author's Notes:** I'm sure someone's done this before, and better at that. I just wanted to get it out._


End file.
